Yu-gi-oh: Shadows of the Future
by Trojevia
Summary: Jake Muto, Valerie and Kyle Wheeler, Kevin Taylor, and Vanessa Kaiba wonder about their parents' occasional "business trips" that they aren't allowed to attend. These trips are completely out of the blue, and they drop everything to leave. One day, they inadvertently find out what happens on these business trips and find that they're not as glamorous as they once seemed to be.
1. Character references

Name: Jacob Muto (goes by Jake)

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 130 lbs

Appearance: dark brown hair; burgundy eyes; usually wears a charcoal-colored t-shirt with a light gray star on it over a medium gray long-sleeved shirt, camouflage cargo shorts, and navy blue converse

Personality: somewhere in the middle between introvert and extrovert; shy; somewhat low self-esteem; likes to sit in the background and observe things

Hobbies: gaming: board games, card games (although he doesn't play Duel Monsters very often), video games, especially DDR; dancing; getting blackmail from Valerie and Kyle's arguing

Bio: As the son of the King of Games, Jake grew up wealthy and learned gaming at a very young age. He's very lucky, but can never seem to beat his father at Duel Monsters. Since he lost to Yugi so many times playing Duel Monsters as a young child, he has low confidence in his dueling skills, even though he's not as bad as he thinks he is – it's never fair to play against Yugi with Duel Monsters. Instead, he goes for other games where he has a better chance of beating his father. Téa taught him how to dance, and he's naturally athletic. His best friend is Kyle Wheeler.

Name: Kyle Wheeler

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 140 lbs

Appearance: straight light blonde hair; brown eyes; wears a stark white oxford shirt with the sleeves rolled up with a black vest and black pants (the creases are always maintained); black shoes; despite eating a lot of junk food and lounging around, he stays thin

Personality: lazy, not as dumb as he seems but is too lazy to voice his ideas most of the time, bickers with his twin, laid-back, hard to get him worked up over anything, doesn't really worry much; he cares more for his appearance than Valerie ("Well, if I meet a pretty girl, I have to look presentable, don't I?"), somewhat of a flirt

Hobbies: relaxing, watching TV, video games, eating

Bio: Kyle was born lazy. He took naps frequently, a habit that has continued to the present day. He doesn't move a whole lot, and he eats a lot of junk food. He's all about comfort, and his family and friends are very worried that he will develop diabetes. Despite not exercising much, Kyle has excellent hand-eye coordination.

Name: Valerie Wheeler

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 128 lbs

Appearance: light blonde hair that goes down to the middle of her back; violet eyes; occasionally wears a little makeup but doesn't always wear it because she exercises a lot; puts her hair up when she exercises; somewhat muscular without being buff; often wears a black sleeveless top, white shorts, knee-high socks, and running shoes when she's working out; other times she wears a periwinkle short-sleeved shirt with a white jacket, an indigo skirt, and black sandals

Personality: sassy tomboy but can be feminine; good listener; squabbles with Kyle on a regular basis, usually winning, although it can be argued that Kyle is too lazy to continue arguing and lets her win; despite being caring, she has the shortest temper of the group

Hobbies: soccer, running, looking pretty, yoga, shopping

Bio: At first, Joey and Seto wanted their children to have nothing to do with each other, but at Jake's fourth birthday party, Kevin, Kyle, Valerie, and Vanessa all attended, and the two girls became inseparable. Joey caved first since he wanted his little girl to be happy, but then Seto agreed "as long as I don't have to deal with the insufferable mutt in person". However, Kisara and Mai have become great friends because of their daughters, which is what really sealed the deal. Around the time Vanessa started learning martial arts, Valerie started playing soccer, and since then, the two have been exercise buddies. Valerie worries for Kyle, which is the main source of their arguments.

Name: Kevin Taylor

Height: 5'6"

Weight: 128 lbs

Appearance: auburn hair, freckles, hazel eyes, wears a red gingham shirt over a white t-shirt and regular jeans; brown rectangular glasses

Personality: observant; sensitive; very shy; finds it nearly impossible to talk to girls; low self-confidence; conscious of the fact that his friends are all from richer families than he is; easily flustered; very kind; basically an even shyer version of Yugi at the beginning of the series

Hobbies: drawing; painting; cooking; playing the guitar; reading

Bio: The son of Tristan Taylor and Serenity Wheeler, Kevin is very close to his cousins. Tristan never dueled, and since his circle of friends consists of the children of famous duelists, Kevin feels overshadowed by his friends, and by extension, their parents. He lives in much more humble circumstances than his friends, but his family isn't impoverished.

Name: Vanessa Kaiba

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 135 lbs

Appearance: rich brown hair that goes down to her waist; cerulean eyes; face is basically Seto's face, but her chin's not as pointy; flat-chested; normally wears a black shirt, dark jeans, black knee-high boots, and a dragon necklace;

Personality: basically Seto Kaiba's personality but more willing to befriend others

Hobbies: Duel Monsters; video games; martial arts; music; testing her intelligence; reading

Bio: Despite not having a horrible childhood her father had, Seto Kaiba has raised an almost exact copy of himself. Vanessa grew up pampered but took after her father in many aspects, the main difference being that she is much more willing to make friends. She's cunning and can be ruthless. She learned to read and write at the age of two, and she's a natural with technology. Seto groomed her to be the heiress of KaibaCorp. Because Mokuba had been abducted so many times in his childhood, Seto made sure Vanessa was perfectly capable of defending herself. She tends to "borrow" Seto's Blue-Eyes White Dragons so often that he has considered commissioning Pegasus to make three more Blue-Eyes so he can keep his three. Her skills include working with technology, martial arts, burning people in arguments, and playing the piano. Vanessa is very tough and doesn't take crap from anyone.


	2. Pilot

_I don't own Yu-gi-oh._

_"A tragedy occurred in the Bermuda Triangle just last night. Three Boeing 777's, carrying a total of 999 people, have vanished without a trace. Conspiracy theorists are claiming that the government is trying to cover up for otherworldly activity, as popular culture often indicates that the area is plagued by alleged UFO sightings. Among the missing are SchroederCorp president Zigfried von Schroeder and the notable author of the popular children's book series _Into the Clouds_, Richard Bay. If anyone has information about flights MIA 2907 or BHIA 4425 they are to report to appropriate authorities immediately. A full list of the missing persons is available on our website._

_"In other news, actor Jean Claude Magnum has announced his third engagement in the past two years. This time, his bride-to-be is the actress Joanna Stuart, who starred in movies such as…"_

"Turn that off. You know there's never anything good on the news," Kyle sighed. "If there isn't anything tragic going on, they won't talk about it. They'll just recycle old material until a new horror story comes to their attention. Lather, rinse, repeat."

"Thus, the circle of life continues."

"Jake, can you stop with the Lion King references already? I know you saw it yesterday for the first time since you were a little kid, but honestly, it's not _that_ exciting. Nostalgia is so overrated."

"Shut up, Kyle. If you don't like what I'm watching, you're welcome to get up and change it, since this is your house. It'd be nice to see you get off that couch for once. I honestly don't know how you stay so thin."

"Good genetics. There's gotta be something good to watch. Why do you like watching all the weird stuff, anyway?"

"I repeat, you're more than welcome to change it if you'd like. When's Kevin getting over here?"

"Aunt Serenity's in for another eye appointment. He texted me and said she'd drop him off after she got out."

"I thought that surgery years ago worked."

"Her left eye seems fine, but her right eye's having a relapse," Kyle's sister Valerie said from in another room. "At least if it comes down to it, Dad can pay for another surgery. And if she needs it, at least the technology will be that much better than it was twenty years ago."

"Has she considered laser eye surgery?"

"It wasn't a problem until a couple months ago. That might be the way to go this time. Vanessa's picking us up in a couple hours. She said her dad's lecturing her about borrowing his deck without asking again. What is it with our parents being so touchy about people handling their decks?"

"Come on. There are only three Blue-Eyes White Dragons in existence. Mr. Kaiba's got every right to be possessive of his deck," Jake said, sensing an oncoming argument.

"That doesn't mean he needs to take it over the top like he does. Honestly, even though it's his signature monster, that doesn't mean he needs to worship it."

"He doesn't worship it!"

"Kyle, you know how big the Kaiba mansion is. I'm sure there's a secret shrine somewhere in it. I still occasionally get lost in there."

"Whatever you say, sis."

"Come on, Vanessa and I have found three secret passages already!"

"Oh yeah? Where are they?"

"I'm not telling you. They're called _secret_ passages for a reason, you know."

"Sure. And I won the lottery."

"By the way, since you were such a genius and broke our DVD player last weekend, you're making dinner tonight."

"Sure, if you want quesadillas again."

"KYLE! IF I HAVE TO EAT ONE MORE QUESADILLA, I'M GOING TO THROW IT BACK UP AND FORCE FEED IT TO YOU!"

"You want me to make dinner, I'll stick with something simple. Why waste effort? Food is food."

"It's called a balanced diet, _brother._"

"A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand."

"Of course you'd say that. Don't blame me when some bad guy's running after you and you can't get away because you're so lazy and out of shape."

"I don't have to outrun the bad guy, I just have to outrun you."

"You can't outrun me!"

"Yeah, you and your mad soccer skills that I hear about every day. I'm getting bored."

"Maybe you wouldn't be so bored if you'd actually do something for a change!"

"I am doing something. I'm relaxing."

"I'm about to drag you off that couch and lock you in the vacuum closet."

"You'd ruin my brand new outfit."

"IS THAT THE ONLY THING YOU CARE ABOUT? THE ONLY THING YOU EVER WORRY ABOUT IS YOUR OUTFIT! SO WHAT, 'I JUST IRONED THIS SHIRT?"

"Time is money. I don't want to waste time ironing these pants again. I did it this morning."

"Time is money you say? Why don't you get a job then?"

"Because Mom and Dad are rich. Why bother?"

"Because eventually, I'll convince them to disinherit you, and then where will you be?"

"Out on the streets, letting you suffer with the guilt of not supporting your wonderful older brother during such a hard time."

"You're full of wonder, alright. It's a wonder you can actually get off the couch since you never leave it except to go to the bathroom and get food. It's a miracle you haven't died from a blood clot yet."

Jake, used to their quarreling, sat there and let the two continue their argument. He usually got good blackmail on the twins by laying low and not commenting.

This argument continued for several minutes before he heard a soft knock on the door.

"Guys, cut it out. Kevin's here."

The twins immediately rushed to the door, their little spat forgotten. They were always excited to see their cousin, even though he only lived a few minutes away.

When Kyle opened the door, he was greeted with Kevin's grim expression.

"How's Aunt Serenity doing?" Valerie asked, concern showing in her violet eyes.

"Not good. She's almost completely lost the vision in her right eye, and her left eye's going downhill fast."

"Do they know why?" Jake asked.

Kevin shook his head. "They think it might be a relapse of Stargardt's disease. She won't be reading or driving any time soon."

"But didn't the surgery fix it?"

"It was experimental, really, since there's no official cure for Stargardt's disease. While the surgery did help for several years, it seems like her body's rejecting the artificial tissue they attached to her retinas. There's a new experimental procedure with RPE cells that they want to try on her."

"RPE?" Kyle asked.

"Retinal pigment epithelial cells. More specifically, they're trying stem cells. The ones the doctors want to use are amniotic stem cells to override any ethical concerns."

The other three teens nodded solemnly.

"So, is Vanessa coming?"

"In a couple hours. She's being lectured right now. Knowing her, she's completely tuned it out," Valerie replied.

"That sounds like her. Did she 'borrow' Mr. Kaiba's deck again?"

"Yeah. Way to go, Vanessa."

"She always manages to figure out the combination for his briefcase or whatever he uses to lock up his deck. It's only safe on his person."

"So she's basically the Bilbo Baggins of our circle?" Kyle asked.

"You wanna call her a burglar to her face?" Valerie asked, raising her eyebrow.

Kyle paled. "No."

Kevin interrupted. "Yeah, you probably want to keep all your limbs. How many forms of martial arts has she mastered now?"

"She's a blackbelt in jujutsu, hapkido, boxing, muay thai, and sambo. I think she's working on judo right now."

"You'd think she'd know taekwondo or karate by now," Jake commented.

"She and her dad chose those ones because they're unusual and so people wouldn't be as prepared for those rare ones as for more common ones like karate. Aside from boxing, of course."

"Yeah, there's something satisfying about punching other people. Especially siblings," Kyle said snidely to his sister.

Valerie punched his chest. "You're right."

Kyle fumed, but didn't respond.

"Guys, I think Vanessa's here," Kevin said quietly.

Jake looked out the window. Sure enough, Vanessa's silver Porsche was parked in the Wheelers' driveway.

"She's really early," Kyle commented.

"How'd she get off the hook this time?" Valerie wondered out loud.

Kevin shrugged.

The four teens ran, grabbed their belongings, and rushed into Vanessa's front seat.

"I call shotgun!" Kyle shouted, but Valerie simply pushed him out of the way and climbed in herself.

Kyle started whining, but Valerie wasn't having any of it.

"You do enough sitting and relaxing at home. It's about time you were uncomfortable."

For lack of an eloquent response, Kyle stuck out his tongue.

"So, you're here early," Jake commented.

"Yeah. There was an emergency at a Kaibaland in America that Dad had to deal with. He said he had to run but 'don't think you're getting out of this one'. Please, I always do. He was so preoccupied with the sudden work emergency that he forgot to get his cards back," Vanessa grinned and pulled out her father's Blue-Eyes White Dragons.

"That's very unlike him. It must be really major for him to drop everything like that, yet for him to forget his precious dragons…" Valerie trailed off.

"Yeah, that's what was so strange. He didn't tell me anything, he just grabbed Mom and flew off in the helicopter. He only took his deck, but he forgot his dragons. I don't even think he gave Mom time to pack."

"I wonder if someone's trying to bomb Kaibaland," Kyle said.

"Don't even joke about that," Vanessa gave him a stern look.

"Sorry," Kyle spat out, chastened.

After a few seconds, Valerie got a text from Kisara Kaiba.

"That's odd. Your mom texted me, Vanessa."

Vanessa shrugged and slowed down for a red light.

**_Code red. Night Wind's missing._**

Valerie immediately texted a response.

_Who?_

**_Ryou._**

_Who's Ryou?_

**_Sorry, Valerie, wrong #. TTYL._**

_Bye._

"What was that all about?" Kyle asked.

"Why were you reading my text, Kyle?"

"I'm stuck in the middle seat, and your phone was kind of right there."

"Who's Ryou?" Kevin asked.

Jake's eyes widened. "Ryou Bakura! He's missing?"

"You know him?" Kyle asked.

"You should recognize the name, Kyle. He's over for dinner at my place every now and then. White hair, brown eyes…"

"Oh, him?"

"That must be why Dad left on such short notice. I never knew they were that close," Vanessa mused.

"He made it to the top eight of the first Battle City tournament. He lost against my dad. It's strange. No one knew he was registered for the tournament until he showed up for the quarterfinals with six locator cards in hand," Jake scratched his head.

"That is weird," Kevin said. "So why's he missing?"

"Who knows? Dad always said he was kind of bipolar," Vanessa pulled into the driveway of the Kaiba mansion.

"He wasn't bipolar. Dad said that an evil spirit occasionally possessed him, but that the evil spirit was defeated for good. Apparently it lived in a necklace he used to wear," Jake said.

"The dreamcatcher with the freaky eye?" Kyle blurted out.

"I guess so. Dad always said it felt like the eye stared into his soul, like it knew all about him."

"Can we stop with the freaky discussion? It's bad enough worrying about Mom's eyes, but this… this has to stop or I won't get any sleep tonight," Kevin said.

"Sorry, Kev," Valerie said sympathetically.

"So, which game tonight? I'm kind of up for DDR," Jake said.

"You would be if Téa's your mom," Vanessa said dryly.

"Well I'm sorry I'm good at dancing."

"Can we all just calm down? Why not go for Go Fish tonight?" Kevin whined.

"Guys, we need to settle down, or at least let Kevin settle down. He does have a lot on his mind," Valerie agreed.

"Fine, just so long as…"

Right then, Vanessa's phone got a text.

"Great, Dad's probably continuing a lecture over the phone," she rolled her eyes.

"While he's piloting a helicopter?" Kyle asked.

Everyone was stunned, not only by the insight, but also by the fact that it came from Kyle's mouth.

"Maybe your mom texted for him," Kevin said.

"She's too soft. She won't text me to lecture for my dad."

"Then you should probably find out what's going on."

Reluctantly, Vanessa read the text. Her face went from annoyed to frightened in a matter of seconds. She didn't hesitate to show off the text.

**_Lockdown as soon as you're in the door. Stay away from all doors and windows, as well as the roof entrance. If someone breaks in, you know where the emergency exits are. Stay armed and stay together at all times. Be sure to keep your phones with you. You're all in serious danger._**

There was a stunned silence between the five teens.

"We should probably get inside," Vanessa said quickly.

No one hesitated to enter the Kaiba mansion, but there was a common question the five friends had.

What on Earth was going on?


End file.
